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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27402025">Escape From San Francisco</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vault13/pseuds/Vault13'>Vault13</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Car Chases, Modern Era, Other, Post-Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:13:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,809</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27402025</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vault13/pseuds/Vault13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if... The Phantom Thieves became Interpol agents? Mission Impossible-style, off the record black-ops team. Trained for espionage in the real world to compliment their ability at infiltration in the cognitive world. A hurried departure from San Francisco as armed pursuers close in.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Escape From San Francisco</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've had this weird idea kicking around in my head for a while for a few reason, it's kind of a thought exercise. It's why it picks up in the middle of the escape. Still, I had to indulge my silly action movie nonsense. The characters should be pretty easy to identify before the end but there is a portion at the end where all the characters are revealed.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A howl of screeching tires tore through the intersection as the black sports car whipped around the corner and nearly went fully horizontal. The Driver hastily wrenched the wheel to compensate and a bring the car back into a rough parallel with the lanes of the road. The engine of the vehicle snarled as horsepower built as a break-neck pace to begin charging up the inclined street bracketed by parked vehicles.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"That's Greenwich, okay, hit your first left! That's Larkin!" a tinny voice spoke in The Driver's ear.</p>
<p>"How far behind are that?" The Driver asked, throwing the gearshift roughly.</p>
<p>A black SUV sloppily skidded into the intersection and had to take a second to get moving back on the trail of the sports car.</p>
<p>"They're not far enough, man!" shouted The Passenger, staring over his shoulder.</p>
<p>"We'll change that at Lombard." The Driver said calmly.</p>
<p>"Ain't that the one that's all- you know, like..." The Passenger wove his hand in a serpentine manner.</p>
<p>"Yeah."</p>
<p>"You think you can actual-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The passenger was cut off as a man in red gaiter leaned from the forward passenger window with a rifle tucked into his shoulder and began to open fire in tight three-round salvos that stitched their way up the back of the sports car. Bullets snapped off of the body of the car, the back glass cracking but not breaking.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Oh shit! They're <em>really</em> pissed, dude!" The Passenger yelled.</p>
<p>"We have to get out of the city, too many bystanders. Someone's going to get hit by the ricochet if they keep firing."</p>
<p>"I mean, that's better than them just shooting us!"</p>
<p>"We're not even supposed to be here."</p>
<p>"Larkin, Larkin, Larkin!" cried the voice in The Drivers ear.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The car downshifted aggressively and The Driver feathered the brake as he snapped left at the T-junction. People ducked behind vehicles lining the road. There was hardly room for two lanes of traffic on the road. Just as quick, the tachometer shot up as the accelerator punched down and gears were thrown hastily. The car shot down the road and climbed in velocity again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Next right, that's Lombard!" the tinny voice shouted</p>
<p>"Almost there." The Driver spoke, more to himself than anyone.</p>
<p>"Shit, dude, they are <em>pissed</em>!" The Passenger shouted.</p>
<p>"Yeah, that's the point, did you forget the briefing <em>already</em>?"</p>
<p>"I don't read those thi-"</p>
<p>"Right, right!" came the tinny voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Another pro-active downshift and the car screeched onto the road, fishtailing further than desired and the rapid correction nearly sheared the paint off of a taxi. The SUV on their tailed had only been seen briefly as they made the turn. They weren't far enough ahead to lose them, not yet. Charging up the inclined road, the engine screamed loud enough to be heard from blocks away/ The SUV surprisingly made the turn onto the street, only able to stay parallel to the road by slamming into a FedEx truck before tearing away. Gunshots continued and pinged off the body of the car.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You need to floor it!" the tinny voice called into The Driver's ear, "Hit the gas or slow it down, make a choice!"</p>
<p>"You know what our usual driver would say."</p>
<p>"<em>Floor it</em>!" the voice commanded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Driver had the accelerator to the floor, shifting gears as the car climbed toward a crest in the road. The SUV behind them continued to drill shots toward the back glass and forced it to web further with cracks, nearing uselessness as any form of window at all. The car hit the crest at almost top speed and momentum from the incline brought the vehicle clear off the ground. It served to bring the chassis clear of the heads of the pedestrians on the cross-walk who scrambled away, low to the ground. The aerial view of Lombard showed the serpentine curves of several switchbacks below them as the wheels spun freely in the air.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Dude, dude, dude! There's <em>no</em> way we're going to make this!" The passenger yelled.</p>
<p>The Driver grimaced, running his hand across the console. "Well, they said the suspension was 'high performance.'</p>
<p>"They didn't say the car could just effin' land after a jump like this!"</p>
<p>"Just hold on." The Driver growled, punching a button down causing a hydraulic his and several loud clicks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The undercarriage of the car dropped- more accurately the suspension dropped by a few feet to leave the wheel-wells empty as the reinforced metal locked and the hydraulic systems pressurized. The awkward vehicle hit the ground with a bone-rattling force on the swerving road and a sudden drop sent the stomachs of both driver and passenger up into their abdomens before hitting another impact with substantially less force as the hydraulic systems desperately tried to make the impact as insubstantial as possible. Hitting the solid concrete lining the path of the road caused the vehicle to jerk sharply.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Holy shit, dude, we're going to lose the tires!" The Passenger panicked</p>
<p>The Driver knit his brows as the held the wheel tight. "You <em>never</em> read the briefing."</p>
<p>"There's still two more!"</p>
<p>"Shut <em>up</em> and just hold on!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The vehicle bucked and shifted violently as the tires traversed the smoothed angles of concrete-lined earth. The last concrete bracket his The Passenger side tire and the car blew through a stop sign. The Driver punched the same button as last time and the chassis of the car dropped the rough foot of height it was still lifted to, bringing it back to its normal height. Behind the car the SUV came hot into the serpentine street and sank swiftly to the ground, hitting the concrete lining the road and popping up onto is two driver-side wheels before suddenly snapping perpendicular to the trajectory it had initially taken and steel crunching and glass breaking filled the air as the SUV rapidly began to tumble down the street before skidding on its roof to the side and slamming into a building at the crest of the incline the car was now smoothly speeding down, rapidly approaching to crossing lanes of level ground.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"<em>Dude</em>, that was effin' crazy! No way they survived that!" The Passenger shouted, looking through the webbed back glass.</p>
<p>The Driver swept his lips with his tongue, "We're not out yer, we haven't even heard from-"</p>
<p>"Oh shit! This car isn't gonna last, man!"</p>
<p>"<em>Read the briefing</em> next time!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Driver's words left his mouth just as the front of the vehicle dipped, hitting the asphalt and shrieking as sparks cascaded from underneath the vehicle. Just as quickly the vehicle was airborne again, the incline of the road downward providing them another shot into the air and a sudden impact as the wheels hit the asphalt and squelched in protest as The Driver fought to keep the vehicle straight. The road ahead, thankfully, leveled off (relatively, and while the skid-plate briefly hit the pavement it, at least, was brief.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"We're going to hit someone, we're just going through stop-signs like we don't care!" The Passenger cried.</p>
<p>The Driver began to speak in unison with the voice formerly in his ear as it came from the speakers in the car, "That was covered in the briefing!"</p>
<p>"Fine, I'll read the next one!"</p>
<p>"You <em>always</em> say that!" the woman's voice called through the speakers.</p>
<p>"Are the lights red?" The Driver asked.</p>
<p>"They've been red, I'm not an amateur."</p>
<p>"Just checking-"</p>
<p>"Right!" the voice called from his ear, this time.</p>
<p>The Driver wrenched the wheel right, decelerating enough to take the turn without too much protest. "How far out are we?"</p>
<p>"This is Columbus, I'm working to bring you to a rendezvous, just keep doing as I say."</p>
<p>"I know better than to question you."</p>
<p>"Heh heh, that's right." the voice in his ear snickered. "Keep straight until I tell you, you're going to be taking a soft right."</p>
<p>"I got it."</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>"They're getting closer!" yelled The Biker into her helmet.</p>
<p>"Just keep going, you're on Height, about to hit Market, it's a straight shot from there all the way to the docks!" called the voice in her ear.</p>
<p>"I don't like being this exposed, they're closing and I've got no more throttle to twist!"</p>
<p>"Our shooter is at the docks, once you hit Market you'll be racing right toward overwatch!"</p>
<p>"What about the others?"</p>
<p>"They're making good time, they should hit market before much longer!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A snap of a rifle shot sounded behind The Biker as she tried to mold herself as closely to the motorcycle as possible. Another gunshot missed her and shattered the window of a truck amidst the vehicles parked on both sides of the road. The black SUV's tires screeched as it swerved around traffic as the rifleman aiming from the sunroof steadied himself for another shot. The next crack in the air sent a round into the asphalt just short of the rear tire on the bike. The Biker began to smoothly weave between vehicles on the road to try and keep as much obstruction between her and the vehicle tailing her. A shot hit the back glass of a car adjacent to her which harshly swerved right into the side of a building.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I <em>can't</em> do this! They're going to kill someone!" The Biker yelled into her helmet.</p>
<p>The voice in her ear sounded somewhat unsure, "Listen, don't do anything you'll end up regretting, we need you-"</p>
<p>"I'm going to regret it if they put a bullet in the back of someone completely unrelated to this!"</p>
<p>"Market! Left!"</p>
<p>"I'm taking care of this!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The bike slowed to take the turn and The Biker allowed the SUV to come up along behind her. She waited, ice running through her body as she could all but feel the shot lining up on her back. No amount of leather was going to stop that and, at this speed, even a light nudge could send her to the pavement in a heap. The Biker took a deep breath and then pulled the rear brake. Smoke from scorching rubber erupted around the rear tire as the motorcycle rapidly decelerated and the SUV shot past it. A twist of the throttle and a modest swerve put The Biker behind the SUV as the rifleman turned around the bring his rifle to bear. This was a lot easier. She began to bait him into taking shots by subtly veering to one side before sharply moving to the other.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Are you crazy?!" the voice in her ear screamed.</p>
<p>The Biker grit her teeth focusing tightly, trying to keep her movements unpredictable. "That's an AR-10, he's either got 3 or 13 rounds left in that magazine."</p>
<p>"There's no way he's going to miss thirteen shots at that range!"</p>
<p>"I agree."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Biker hit the brakes again and slowed dramatically, shifting down as the asphalt in front of her caught the round and the SUV continued moving. She wrenched the throttled and the engine roared like a beast. A quick shift up and a sharp shift of her weight brought the front tire from the asphalt, just enough to shield her with the frame of the motorcycle. She closed in rapidly as shots hit the pavement. That was more than three. He had nine shots left. A bullet banked off the undercarriage of the bike, another hit the pavement again. Another off of the frame, one cut the air next to her. A shot suddenly scored the side of the gas tank but, thankfully didn't pierce it. A round suddenly found its way into the engine block but didn't seem to damage anything. The raised front tire was shot through, the impact forcing The Biker to adjust her weight to compensate.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You've got <em>one</em> tire! Break off!"</p>
<p>"He's got <em>one</em> bullet!"</p>
<p>"You don't know how fast he can reload!"</p>
<p>"<em>Not fast enough</em>!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Biker balanced her weight and speed to lower the bike's front tire toward the ground. Leaning forward, she twisted the throttle and shot forward. For an instant she was staring down the barrel of the rifle, practically making eye-contact with the rifleman. The faint tug of the corner of his mouth forced her head down and the shot was close enough to feel it pass the top of her helmet. He was dry. Keeping the front tire just off the ground, she accelerated. The rifleman lined up the easy shot and took it. The moment of realization on the rifleman's face made The Biker grin to herself. The rifleman scrabbled to eject the magazine as she rapidly closed in, too rapid to slow down. Slowing down at all was going to be dangerous. Instead, The Biker began to shift on the bike and tucked her heel under her. The read of the SUV and the useless front tire of the motorcycle came to a sudden impact.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Using the force of impact, The Biker leaped from the bike, clearing the roof. The rifleman slammed the magazine into his gun and quickly raised the weapon but The Biker impacted the roof of the SUV, using one hand to shove the rifle down into the roof. A savage straight from The Biker's left arm caught him in the face as the bike tumbled into a whiling mess of metal before hitting the asphalt and screeching as it slid along the asphalt, turning as it quickly slowed down. The Biker tore the rifle free and threw it to the street and turned to drive the heel of her boot into his forehead, sending him down into the vehicle. The Biker grabbed one of the railings atop the vehicle in anticipation and her quick thinking saved her as the vehicle swerved in attempt too throw her from it. Holes appeared in the ceiling as bullets stitched their way down the length of the roof while The Biker leaned to one side. Ahead, a black sports car swerved onto the road.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>"She's right behind you, on the SUV! They're going to hit her if you don't do something!" The voice cried in The Driver's ear.</p>
<p>"Well, then, we just won't let that happen." The Driver said, downshifting to decelerate</p>
<p>"Oh <em>man</em>, she's insane! Where's her bike?!" The Passenger shouted.</p>
<p>"She wouldn't have left it without a good reason. Hang on, we're going to get crunched." The Driver instructed.</p>
<p>"Oh shit, dude, is she going to-"</p>
<p>"She doesn't have any options."</p>
<p>"Oh man-"</p>
<p>"Get ready!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The car's brake-lights lit up and the SUV rapidly caught up, nearing collision.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>"They're right there! You're going to have to-"</p>
<p>"This isn't the<em> first</em> time he's done this." The Biker said with an eerie calm.</p>
<p>"Was I on that Op?!"</p>
<p>"You were running interference on security then."</p>
<p>"Don't do anything stupid!"</p>
<p>"Oh, this is <em>absolutely</em> stupid."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The van suddenly laid on the brakes but not fast enough enough to avoid the impact with the sports car in front of them. The Biker used yet another impact to launch herself forward. The leather-clad body of The Biker sailed from the roof of the SUV as she turned in the air, drawing the revolver from her thigh. Hastily she brought her hand to the hammer and she fanned the hammer of the gun, unloading all six rounds across the windshield, blood hit the glass from within just before The Biker hit the ceiling of the car with a heavy thump. The passenger shot his hand out to catch The Biker's reaching hand. The Biker slapped the roof with the butt of the revolver hastily and the car quickly tore away. The SUV swerved sharply into a car parked on the side of the road</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Two more, coming in on Sutter, watch your back!" the voice cried from the speakers in the car and in the ears of The Driver and biker.</p>
<p>"Did you hear that?!" The passenger yelled to The Biker. The Biker nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Another black SUV swerved onto the the road behind them and from behind it a sleek motorcycle with two people upon it. While the SUV was taking time covering the distance, the motorcycle was quickly approached with The Biker completely exposed on the roof of the car and The Passenger's torso just as dangerously open. The forward person seated on the bike leaned down and the rider saddled behind them pulled a compact sub-machine gun up. The passenger quickly tore his shotgun from within the car and raised the stub barrel. One squeeze of the trigger peppered the gunner and sent them tumbling off the back of the bike. The rider still on the bike pulled a handgun from a holster at his back and leveled it at The Passenger. The passenger had quickly brought the weapon back into line from the recoil, and another loud blast sent pellets into the rider and the bike suddenly snapped onto its side and violently impacted the side of a building.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Yeah! I <em>live</em> for this shit!" The Passenger yelled. Simultaneously he earned a look from The Driver and The Biker.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The SUV had closed the gap and even through the webbed glass at the back of the vehicle The Driver was able to make out more than one person reading a weapon. Another blast from The Passenger's shotgun hit the windshield of the vehicle but it held well. Another, this time hasty, shot spit buckshot into the windshield without doing enough to pierce it. The ocean was rapidly coming up to meet them as they charged down to the road to the docks. The SUV encroached on the car and The Passenger loosed another shell. The Biker looked at him and shook her head. The passenger pulled the trigger again but found the weapon empty. A figure emerged from The Passenger side of the SUV with a rifle and leveled it at The Passenger. The man's finger began to move and, then, his head snapped back in a spray of crimson and his rifle hit the asphalt as he hung limply out of the window. The crack of the gunshot reached their ears trailing the bullet by a full second. The Driver swerved to one side and the glass of the windshield burst open like a fist had been driven through it. The mess of blood was answer enough as the gunshot hit their ears just a beat later.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You're clear! We have the gates open but you have to slow down or you'll overshoot the mark!" the voice cried through the speakers.</p>
<p>The passenger began to awkwardly shift to allow The Biker to slide in to sit between the seats. The passenger fell into his seat and rolled his window up. "That was<em> crazy</em>!"</p>
<p>The Biker pulled the helmet off her head, panting and cast it to The Passenger-side floorboard. "You <em>never</em> keep track of your ammunition!"</p>
<p>"W-What the hell does that matter, we lived!" he barked.</p>
<p>"<em>You</em> weren't the one who was entirely exposed on the roof of the car!"</p>
<p>"You <em>had</em> a bike!"</p>
<p>"Yeah, I did, I <em>liked</em> that bike!"</p>
<p>"Where the hell is it, then?!"</p>
<p>"Way back there in a total wreck! God, can you just, for once, <em>pretend</em> you didn't forget your training?!"</p>
<p>The Driver sighed and shook his head, raising his hand and putting a half to the bickering. "You can yell all you want once we're out of here. We're going to-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sirens began to come into earshot, their volume increasing as police vehicles approached. Far in the distance red and blue lights began to flash, rapidly growing in number and appearing on the road running along the docks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Have to deal with police." The Driver muttered.</p>
<p>"I gave you as long as I could." the voice spoke from the vehicle's speakers.</p>
<p>"No, it's more than enough, I'd just like to focus on this." The Driver said.</p>
<p>The passenger peered ahead with squinting eyes. "That's- It's already leaving!"</p>
<p>"Did you even <em>read</em> the briefing?!" The Biker yelled</p>
<p>The Driver spoke before The Passenger could, "No."</p>
<p>"<em>How</em> are you still on this team?!" The Biker yelled at The Passenger.</p>
<p>"I skimmed it, okay?!" the Passenger bit back.</p>
<p>The Driver, along with The Biker, shook his head.</p>
<p>"It needs to be out there if we're going to hit the mark." The Driver calmly said, focusing on the path ahead of him.</p>
<p>The Biker knit her brows, "Think they'll send boats after us?"</p>
<p>"That <em>should</em> be handled." The Driver replied, shifting up a gear. "Time to thread the needle."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The sports car barreled down the road, passing through open gates at the harbor and swerving around stack of cable spools. The car rapidly approached the end of the pier in front of them. A cargo ship lurched away, beginning to turn lazily. That wasn't supposed to happen. It came down to a prediction of just how fast the car needed to be moving to hit the ramp at the end of the pier to clear the distance to the cargo ship and not crash head-on into a closed container. A dull blue shipping container was open with a figure to each side of it, holding the doors clear. He had to make sure he didn't clip either door, either, it could possibly injure one of them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Brace yourself." The drive muttered, making minute corrections.</p>
<p>The passenger was sweating bullets, "Shit, man, can we even <em>make</em> that?! What if we just hit the back of the ship?!"</p>
<p>"Trust him." The Biker said quietly, placing her hands and legs in position to absorb the force of a possible impact.</p>
<p>"There." The Driver whispered under his breath.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The car hit the inclined with a cracking of wood and shot off of the ramp as police cars began to pile into the docks. The water of the pacific ocean passed beneath them as they sailed thought the air, hitting the apex of its arc and the front began to dip as the weight of the engine pulled it down. The figures to each side of the container jumped out of the way as the vehicle cleared the back of the ship. The car hit the top of shipping container loudly as the rear tires took half a second to hit the metal. The Driver shifted the steering wheel at the last moment and the front passenger-side fender impacted the side of the container and screeched as the entire passenger side of the car. The tires shrieked as they refused to turn on the metal of the shipping container and the front of the car itself impacted the far side of the shipping container with a hard crunch, The Driver quickly shut the engine off, lowering his forehead to the steering wheel.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Haha! Holy <em>shit</em>, dude! That was awesome! I thought we were going to end up sinking in the Atlantic!" The passenger cried out.</p>
<p>The Biker turned around and leaned back over the gearshift to draw her knees in and forcefully kick out the back glass. "Gah! It's the <em>Pacific</em>!"</p>
<p>The Driver took a deep breath and began to aside The Biker in slipping out of the back window, "I'm making <em>sure</em> you read the next briefing."</p>
<p>The Passenger rolled his eyes and began to follow The Biker out, "Fine, whatever, we got out."</p>
<p>"Yeah, but you screwed up and weren't even aware of the modifications to the car." The Driver said as he began to crawl out as well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The three of them slowly made their way to the back of the container and The Biker and Driver closed and locked the container before the three of them began to climb down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I really wanted to visit Grace Cathedral, I could barely get a look at it through my scope." The Sniper lamented to himself.</p>
<p>"Yeah, but we should really be glad we're all here in one piece." The Grenadier said.</p>
<p>The Biker rolled her shoulders and sighed, "I don't want to see this city again<em> any</em> time soon."</p>
<p>"Man, the burgers here are a<em>mazing</em>, though! I would have loved to get some of those to go." the Passenger said, placing a hand on The Driver's shoulder.</p>
<p>The Driver brought his gloved hand to his face and gave it bit of a rub, "Everyone's out?"</p>
<p>The Cat slid around the corner of the cargo container, "Of course, we wouldn't leave anyone behind. That's not how we operate!"</p>
<p>"Look at all those damn cops." The Passenger muttered.</p>
<p>They were making distance but the docks were lined with flashing red and blue lights. The Beauty said as she hopped down from a container nearby. "It's kind of pretty, in a way."</p>
<p>The Handler spoke in The Driver's ear, "Once we get out to sea proper we'll use the crane and dump the container."</p>
<p>"Lets get inside, I need to get out of these leathers." The Biker said, making her way down to the next level of cargo containers.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>"What about choppers?" The Passenger asked, leaning back in his chair.</p>
<p>The Beauty shook her head, "Ryuji, why do you concern yourself with, like, the job of everyone <em>but</em> yourself? I heard you screwed up."</p>
<p>"He really did." The Biker said, shaking her head.</p>
<p>"Wh- Makoto you lost your bike, that's a big screw-up!" Ryuji exclaimed.</p>
<p>"I lost my bike making sure that the guy shooting at me would fire at me and not bystanders." Makoto said, crossing her arms.</p>
<p>The sniper leaned against the wall. "I counted your shots myself, five is not a hard number to keep track of."</p>
<p>"My blood was pumpin', man! Why are you picking on me, too, Yusuke?" Ryuji asked</p>
<p>"Typical Ryuji, scraping by because we carry him along." The Cat said, hopping up onto the table.</p>
<p>"Don't you start, Cat! Er... Morgana." Ryuji cried.</p>
<p>"I am <em>not</em> a cat!" Morgana replied.</p>
<p>The Beauty rubbed her chin, "I dunno, we do call you The Cat on Ops..."</p>
<p>Morgana lowered his head "Lady Ann, not you, too..."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Handler stepped out from a room the next floor up, standing at the railing and looking the group over. "Despite how it ended, the operation was a relative success."</p>
<p>"Thanks, Sis." Makoto said, smirking.</p>
<p>"Makoto, you really could have gotten hurt. I'm speaking as your handler, not just your sister. Still, I understand why you did it."</p>
<p>"We're missing someone..." The Grenadier murmured.</p>
<p>"I'm all around you, Haru." came a female voice from the PA speakers in the room.</p>
<p>"W-well you should join us, Futaba..." Haru muttered.</p>
<p>Futaba sprang up from behind a crate with a grin, "<em>Already here</em>. Pretty impressive driving, Ren."</p>
<p>"I'd rather let Makoto do it next time." The Driver said.</p>
<p>"Wait, Ren? I thought it was Akira? Or... Weren't you going by Joker, still?" Ryuji asked.</p>
<p>"It... It's complicated. Just pick one and everyone will know who you're talking about." Joker said, pulling the red driving gloves from his hands.</p>
<p>"Still, we got in and out before the police could catch on. As for the helicopters, Haru and Ann effectively grounded them before the operation began." spoke Sae.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Any one you walk away from, right?" Ryuji asked.</p>
<p>"You can walk with a bullet in your stomach, I don't know if I like that phrase." Futaba said.</p>
<p>Ann stretched a bit, "So, when do we get picked up?"</p>
<p>"Interpol will have an unmarked helicopter here about an hour after we dump the container." Sae answered.</p>
<p>Joker asked the question everyone had on their mind, "Do we get some time off?"</p>
<p>"We'll be going back to the black-site but it's up to Interpol to handle the intel we gained and decide what to do with it."</p>
<p>"<em>Man</em>, I agreed to this because I thought it'd be a lot of fun." Ryuji groused.</p>
<p>Yusuke brushed some hair behind his ear, "I <em>distinctly</em> recall hearing 'I live for this shit' over the comms."</p>
<p>Ryuji laced his fingers behind his head, "I mean, yeah but so much of it is skulkin' around when we could just go in and take 'em all out!"</p>
<p>"What part of 'Covert' did you fail to understand?" Morgana inquired.</p>
<p>"Probably the whole word." Joke mused.</p>
<p>Ryuji groaned, "Come on, Ren- Akir- I mean... Joker? Not you, too. You're my <em>boy</em>, you're supposed to have my back."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"If you're quite done, we need to prep the crane and cargo container. When you get back, get your gear. Make sure you don't leave anything behind. Interpol is going to scrub the place and they'll burn anything you forget and I definitely don't want them yelling at me because one of you forgot live rounds or a security key." Sae said, turning and stepping back into the room on the second floor. She brought her hand up and pinched the bridge of her nose. As far as operations went this was definitely a win, much better than the first few but things were only going to get more difficult.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"This really<em> wasn't</em> the promotion I was hoping for."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, thanks for reading. This was honestly just a weird self-indulgent thing but I just liked the idea. I actually spent time mapping out the routes with google maps, I know there's likely not enough road for all this to happen but since when did that stop an action movie? Yusuke seemed like the closest to a sniper to me, like he'd be the sort to enjoy observing things with his people-watching and stuff as well as a possible art of long-range accuracy.  Ann, Haru, Morgana etc didn't have a lot to do in this but if I add to it I will definitely include more for them to do.</p>
<p>Again, thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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